Safeway Hawaii Stores and Island Food Banks Launch Special Food Drive to Help Feed the Hungry
HONOLULU – Safeway stores statewide have partnered with the local food banks on each island – Hawaii Foodbank on Oahu, Hawaii Foodbank Kauai, Maui Foodbank and The Food Basket on the Big Island – to launch a special food drive, “Help Us End Hunger,” and accept food donations for residents starting Wednesday, July 6.
A specially produced grocery bag containing tuna, peanut butter, cereal, canned vegetables, spaghetti, macaroni and cheese and instant mashed potatoes will be available for $10 at all Safeway stores through July 24. Safeway created the grocery bag offering to make a donation easier for shoppers and to ensure food bank recipients receive the food items that they need most.
“We are proud to be partnering with our area food banks on this community-wide collection effort,” said George Glukfeld, Safeway Hawaii district manager. “We hope customers will help us end hunger by donating quality food items to those in need. Every bag, every can and every dollar does count!”
Safeway and the island food banks hope that all local residents will support this drive. Supplies tend to be lower at this time of year and yet there still remains a great need from food bank recipients across the state. Food bank volunteers will also gather at Safeway stores on Saturday, July 16, to conduct a special one-day donation/collection to ask customers to help.
According to the Hawaii Foodbank, Hawaii residents helped distribute almost 9 million meals to help feed 183,500 people statewide in 2010. Every donation received today helps feed more than 14 percent of Hawaii’s population, or one in seven people.
Safeway contributes $175 million in food donations to food banks each year across the United States and partners with local organizations in the summer and fall by placing food-collection barrels in stores.
About Safeway
Safeway Inc. is a Fortune 100 company and one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America based on sales. The company operates 1,694 stores in the United States and Canada and had annual sales of $41 billion in 2010. The company’s common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SWY.